This question of who is and who is not human is quite fascinating. There is
no way to tell from a dead set of bones what a person was like inside. But
from the objects he leaves behind, one can infer quite a lot.
For instance, Neanderthal man, in addition to some of the things I
mentioned earlier, also showed several other characteristics which are unique
to humanity. At Tata, Hungary, a fossil nummulite with an incised cross in
it was found in association with Neanderthal man. I do not know of any
animal which engages in the carving of symbols into stone. At the deepest
level at Cueva Morin, a deer rib fragment was found decorated with regularly
spaced curve grooves carved into it. (Encyclopedia of Archaeology,
Cambridge, 1980, p. 85) (What animals does this?)
At Guattari Cave, in Italy, a human skull was found lying on the ground
surrounded by a circle of stones.(Ibid, p. 85). Of this J. B. Birdsell
says,
"In the inner chambers of Guattari cave some sixty miles south of Rome was
discovered the skull of a classic Neanderthal man under what are certainly
unusual circumstances. The find, known as Circeo I, was almost comple except
for two significant mutilations. The right side of the skull and face has
been badly damaged by violent blows. The base of the skull has further been
mutilated so as to get at the brain in a way that is exactly similar to that
practiced by living headhunters in Melanesia. The skull was found in an
inner chamber which had not been used as a living site. It lay surrounded by
a circle of stones with its base pointed upward. Three bundles of bones of
wild cattle, red deer, and pigs were placed in the chamber in calculated
clusters. From this evidence, Professor Blanc (1961) hypothesized that this
skull represented a sacrificial victim who had been killed by a heavy blow on
the temporal area of the skull as is done among present-day headhunters. The
victim was beheaded and the skull mutilated outside of the cave, since there
is no trace of either the rest of the skelton or the fragmenst of the skull
inside. The skull was then brought into the inner chamber and placed in an
honored position within the circle of stones. This position suggests that it
may have been used as a cup....Professor Blanc's reconstruction may seem a
little fancifull, but it is as convincing as any other which has been
offered." J. B. Birdsell, Human Evolution, (Rand McNally, 1972, p. 283-284)
Archaeologists have also found the ruins of what may be the oldest
dwellings at Molodova. They found a ring of mammoth bones, 10 meters by 7
meters . Inside this circle were lots of stone tools, food remains, and
fifteen fire places. ( Cambridge Encyclopedia of Archaeology, , p. 84).
Mammoth bones were believed to be there to hold the tent down. Deliberate
dry-stone walls have been found at two Neanderthal sites (Ibid., p.84-85). A
possible 11.5 by 7 meter hut with numerous fire hearths along the center line
was found next to a rock shelter.
As I mentioned earlier, the dead of Neanderthal were often buried. Is
there any animal which does that? Not only that, there are often mortuary
offerings of food and flowers found buried with the Dead. Often a man's flint
tool kit was buried with him! Didn't the Pharoahs do that? Birdsell describes
a burial from Shanidar cave,
"But the most interesting burial of all was found in Shanidar cave in the
Zagros Mountains of Northern Iraq. It represents a man about 30 years of age
whose skull had been badly crushed, as if by a falling rock from the roof of
the great cave. And he was buried on a bed of flowers and covered with a
blanket of them. Pollen analysis showed the remains of abundant blue grape
hyacinths and bachelor buttons, hollyhocks and golden ragwort both above and
below the skeleton. One can almost visualize his family and friends going
out into the hills to pick their arms full of floral tributes to be buried
with this man. Shanidar I was remarkable in another way. He was born with a
withered right arm which was amputated above the elbow in life and healed
successfully. This demonstrates a surprising skill in surgery in a
Pleistocene society, and, more importantly, shows that a handicapped
indivdual was able to survive. Presumably it means that the society
contained some altruism, enough to provide the essentials of food and shelter
to its injured members. The fact that he was also honored with his burial
blankets of flowers suggests that he was an individual of some importance....
"The practice of intentional burial of the dead is the first direct
evidence for the evolution of religion in the human record. Among living
primitives, burial is always associated with a belief in life after death."
Birdsell, Human Evolution, p. 285
There are also evidences of a bear cult among the Neanderthals. Birdsell
writes:
"In common with some living northern hunters, such as the Ainu, Neanderthal
men evolved a a bear cult, judging from the way in which they handled the
remains of these animals. In a number of excavated caves their skulls have
been found placed in seemingly significant ways. But the most remarkable
instance comes from Regordou, in southern France, where a rectangular stone
lined pit contained the skulls of more than 20 cave bears, and was covered by
an enormous flat stone slab. A further display included the entire skeleton
of one of the big animals." Birdsell, Human Evolution, p. 283.
The Ainu are an interesting group and give rise to an interesting
speculation. Until 660 B. C., the inhabitants of Japan were Caucasians,
their remnant are called the Ainu. Mount Fuji is named for an Ainu God and
the word is not Japanese. Ivar Lissnar, after describing the sacrifice of a
bear by the Ainu, he writes:
"...the bear's skull is exhibited outside the house, facing east, to be
worshiped. Then, as the unfortunate beast's soul leaves its body to rise to
heaven, the men shoot off a few more arrows to the northeast.
We now come to the most mysterious feature of the bear cult. After his
death, the bear is known as *chinukara-guru*, which means 'prophet' or
'guardian'. The Ainu use the same word to describe the North Star in the
constellation of the Little Bear. So it seems that from primeval times the
civilizations both of the Mediterranean and the Ainu have associated this
constellation with the bear." Ivar Lissner, _The Living Past_ G.P. Putnam
Sons, 1957, p. 206-207.
Makes one wonder where we got the idea that the northernmost constellation
was a bear.
Concerning Homo erectus, in addition to the laid out half elephant carcass I
mentioned earlier there is also the following.
"Evidence of collecting skulls is not the only sign of ritual observances.
In no single H. erectus cranium known (whether from China, Java, or Africa),
is the base of the cranium intact. Every one shows damage to the region
around the foramen magnum (the hole in the base of the skull through which
the stem of the brain passes on its way to become the spinal cord). This
damage appears to have been deliberately inflicted; that this is one of the
thinnest parts of the cranium is an unconvincing argument for accidental
damage; indeed, even in the much thinner walled crania of Australopithecus
this region is typically found intact."
"Homo Erectus," Encyclopedia Britannica, vol 8., 1982, , p. 1034.
It would seem that Homo erectus had enough religious beleif to be a
headhunter and possibly cannibal.
I am sorry, but if all the above sounds like the work of non-humans to
you, then we must simply disagree. We can tell everyone that there is no
evidence of human religion prior to the advent of Homo Sapiens, but this is
strictly speaking not true. The views I have been advocating are the only
way currently to actually explain these facts (as well as their great age)
within a Biblical framework. Other views with which I am familiar either do
not mention these things or assume that they must be due to non-humans. But
do animals build dry-walls and bury their dead? I know of none. It is time
for Christianity to consider a different approach to harmonizing Science with
Scripture.
glenn
16075 Longvista Dr.
Dallas, Texas 75248